Tuesday, 1 March 2011

This morning I volunteered to drive Cliff to a meeting in Ipswich – an excuse for me to take my new wheels for a longer journey than just pootling to the next village and back. We parked near the Waterfront and while Cliff headed into the town centre I wandered down to the marina; on a chilly grey day I didn't want to hang around outside so I settled down in a cosy café – pot of tea, pain au chocolat, view of the yachts, the daily papers and wi-fi . . . that was pretty much all I needed to keep me happy for a while :-)

I then walked back along the harbour, past the trendy bistros towards the old Customs House; down a narrow alley in an old harbour warehouse is the John Russell Gallery – the current exhibition is of Michael Coulter's recent watercolours.

I like Michael Coulter's cards of East Anglian wildlife and landscape, especially the designs he produces for the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, so I was looking forward to seeing the original watercolour paintings. To be honest I'm not sure I liked most of the pictures; two I did like were "Swallows and Martins" swirling round in the sky and another called "Three Gates" – both of these had a limited colour palette and strong repeated patterns.

However, I did buy the 2011 Michael Coulter Calendar and some other lovely art cards; and I very much enjoyed the other work in the gallery.

When Cliff returned, we headed off to Pin Mill on the Orwell estuary for lunch at the Butt & Oyster pub – it had been recommended to me and I was building up hopes of delicious local seafood. Sad to say lunch failed to live up to expectations – OK fish spoiled by being served with underdone chips (and don't get me started on what was served up for Cliff as 'toad in the hole').

I was just about to ask if they were Hipstomatic:) Isn't it the greatest toy ever. I have the big proper camera (minus the big proper lens which is in hospital) but I love my Hipstomatic. Did you find a better pud elsewhere?

Thanks Celia - really enjoyed reading this and exploring the links, especially the gallery and Michael Coulter ... many of his paintings remind me of old Ladybird books or the kind of flora and fauna illustrations in children's 'nature' books, so I liked them for that reason.

I do like that Hipstomatic effect - is it possible without an iPhone / app?

Hi Skybluepinkish - Have you tried the CameraBag App? We had tea and toasted scones back at home.

Hi Sally - I think we both had high expectations (sometimes not a good way to start a day)

Hi Gilly - yes, you're right about Michael Coulter's paintings. I enjoy them for that reason too - just not sure about them in posh frames on the wall.Suppose you can do clever stuff in Photoshop to get the same effects - Hipstamatic is instant and fun to use :-)

What a wonderful way to spend a day out Celia.My geography is not poor but I never realised Ipswich was close to water! I always thought it was inland. What a treat to discover something new.I can understand the wanting to drive a new car to lots of places. What a shame the foodie treats at the end of the journey didn't live up to expectations. Lesley

Hi Country Girl - my first visit to the Waterfront, it's on it's way up!

Hi Printed Material - I know what you mean - glancing at a map Ipswich does seem to be inland. But it's on the Orwell estuary and has been a major port since the 8th century! and still is. Now a large area of the docks has been redeveloped - new University campus, restaurants, cafés, yacht marina, etc.

Love those pictures. I really don't go to Ipswich enough, I am rather scared of the roundabouts and traffic on the way in (pathetic, I know)But your post has encouraged me to get to know it a little better. Shame about the lunch, so frustrating.

I love reading all the comments (except for spam and advertising which I will delete) and I'll reply here in the comments under each blog post, it may take a few days if I'm busy.You don't need to have a blog to leave a comment, you can select the name/URL option and fill in just your name instead of a blog link.